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88 <br /> characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the <br /> transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government or its <br /> subdivisions. Agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions shall mean and <br /> include every public office, public officer or official (state or local, elected or appointed), <br /> institution, board, commission, bureau,council, department, authority or other unit of <br /> government of the state or of any county, unit, special district or other political subdivision <br /> of government. <br /> Q. Is any person allowed to see my records? <br /> A. Yes, except as restricted by specific provisions in state or federal law. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-6 <br /> instructs: <br /> "Every custodian of public records shall permit any record in the custodian's custody to be <br /> inspected and examined at reasonable times and under reasonable supervision by any <br /> person, and shall, as promptly as possible,furnish copies thereof upon payment of any fees <br /> as may be prescribed by law. ... No person requesting to inspect and examine public records, <br /> or to obtain copies thereof,shall be required to disclose the purpose or motive for the <br /> request." <br /> Q. What about my confidential records? <br /> A. Not all government records are open to public inspection. Exceptions to the access <br /> requirements in N.C. Gen.Stat. § 132-6 and the definition of public records in N.C. Gen. Stat. § <br /> 132-1 are found throughout the General Statutes. You must be able to cite a specific provision <br /> in the General Statutes or federal law when you restrict or deny access to a particular record. <br /> Q. Am I required to make available to the public copies of drafts that have not <br /> been approved? <br /> A. Yes, even if a report, permit, or other record has not been finalized, it is still a public record <br /> subject to request. Any record that is not confidential by law must be provided when a request <br /> is received,whether it is "finished" or not. <br /> Q. What do 1 do with permanent records? <br /> A. Permanent records should be maintained in the office that created the records,forever. <br /> The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) is charged by the General Assembly <br /> with the administration of a records management program (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-4 (2) and § <br /> 132-8.1) and the maintenance of"a program for the selection and preservation of public records <br /> considered essential to the operation of government and to the protection of the rights and <br /> interests of persons"(§ 132-8.2). Permanent records with these characteristics require <br /> preservation duplicates that are human-readable (paper or microfilm). Some examples of these <br /> characteristics include: <br /> ■ Affect multiple people,without regard to relation <br /> ■ Have significance over a long span of time <br /> ■ Document governance <br /> ■ Document citizenship <br /> Examples of records with these characteristics: <br /> ■ Minutes of governing bodies at the state and local levels are the basic evidence of our system <br /> of governance, and are routinely provided for the public to read. <br /> A-2 <br />